Shumai Dumplings

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So I love, love, love dim sum! Often times I catch myself trying to calm my craving by buying pre-made frozen pot stickers, although in a pinch they are fine, they don’t even touch the real deal. I found some thin gyoza wrappers and I’ve had them staring me down in the freezer now for a few weeks, I decided that today was the day to make shumai. Shumai are a delicious version of Asian dumpling, mine are filled with pork, shrimp, and cabbage, but the possibilities are endless! I read a few recipes and found the best to be the Chinese food tutorials, the worst hands down was Alton Brown’s pot sticker recipe that included ketchup and mustard, and one review said they were like “meatloaf” pot stickers. Not what I was after so I tried the more traditional recipe ideas and honestly the results were so good that after cooking three for photo purposes I instantly had to make three more, because I had devoured the first three before I could get all my pics taken! Yeah that good……I would challenge you to try these at your next holiday get together or cocktail party, served in Asian soup spoons they would be a super sexy passed appetizer, WARNING make a lot cuz they won’t last long! Traditional Shumai are steamed but I didn’t have the right gear for that so I cooked them like you would cook any run of the mill pot sticker (oil first, then water, then lid) and they worked out beautifully.
Makes 3 dozen.
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You will need:
36 thin wonton wrappers, I used circular “gyoza” style but square would be fine as well
1 pound ground pork
36 small shrimp, I used 41/50 which were a little large so I cut mine in half, I like big pieces of shrimp cuz they look all pink and pretty when steamed, most recipes called for chopping them up, but I prefer the texture of the bigger pieces.
1 cup coleslaw mix, or shredded cabbage, I used an organic bagged coleslaw that worked great
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 8 oz can water chestnuts diced, small
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce, I used this because I hadn’t realized I ran out of sesame oil, it worked great
5 green onions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons dry white wine
Dipping sauce of choice, I used Kikkoman ponzu, a bit of sciracha , black sesame seeds, a little chopped cilantro, and a little fried shallots. You can use what you like, there are plenty of great recipes for pot sticker sauce on the web, find your fav.
In a bowl combine everything but, wrappers, shrimp, and of course dipping sauce. Combine those ingredients well to make sure the seasoning is spread throughout and everything is well incorporated, set aside.
Put a bit of water in a small bowl, place a few wrappers out at a time, with your index finger rub a little water just around the edges of the wrapper, add 1 Tablespoon filling to the center, top with shrimp,

and then you can either form them by wrapping your thumb and pointer finger around
or you can pinch them closed the then fold the pinched portion over.
To cook, use a medium skillet, preferably one with a lid, and heat over medium high, add a little cooking oil of choice, add about 6 shumai at a time, let them cook in oil for a few minutes, then add ½ cup water, cover for a few minutes and watch until water evaporates, let sizzle a minute long and remove, serve hot with sauces of choice! Sorry though, these will totally ruin you for the frozen ones!